Email marketing software

How to choose email marketing software

Decide what you're sending before you compare tools. A weekly newsletter needs a clean editor and a sign-up form. A shop needs abandoned-cart emails and product blocks. A SaaS company needs emails triggered by what users do in the product. These are three different jobs, and the tool that wins at one often feels clumsy at another. Kit and MailerLite suit newsletters. Klaviyo and Omnisend suit online shops. ActiveCampaign and Brevo suit teams that want automation sitting behind their emails.

Check how the tool counts your audience. Some vendors charge for every contact you store, including people who unsubscribed or never opened a thing. Others charge only for active profiles or for emails sent. A list of 20,000 can cost very different amounts depending on that one rule, so read the fine print before you import anything.

Look at automation depth, not the word "automation". Almost every tool sends a welcome email. Fewer let you branch on behaviour, tag people who click a link, or stop a sequence when someone buys. If you plan to build more than a welcome series, test that on the free plan first.

Ask about deliverability. Your email design means nothing if it lands in spam. Good tools authenticate your sending domain, give you clear bounce and complaint numbers, and don't put you on a shared IP with spammers. Cheap plans often share IPs. That works for small lists and gets risky as you grow.

Test the editor and the reports with your own content. Build one real campaign. Time how long it takes. A tool that feels fine in a demo can slow you down every week for years.

How much does email marketing software cost?

Among the 17 tools in our directory, 14 publish a starting price. Those run from free to $49 a month, with a median of about $15. Three vendors (Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact and HubSpot Marketing Hub) don't list a simple entry price, so you'll need to price them against your own list size. We checked these figures on vendor pages in November 2026. Prices change, so confirm before you buy.

The cheap end starts at $9 a month with Mailjet and Brevo, then climbs through MailerLite ($10), Mailchimp ($13), AWeber ($15), ActiveCampaign ($15), Moosend ($16) and Omnisend ($16). GetResponse starts at $19, Klaviyo at $20, and Kit's paid plan at $39 for 1,000 subscribers. beehiiv and Loops both start at $49.

Free plans differ more than their price tag suggests. Brevo lets you store 100,000 contacts but caps you at 300 emails a day. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, with one automation and Kit branding on your emails. MailerLite gives you 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month and up to three automations. Mailchimp, Klaviyo and Omnisend all stop at 250 contacts. Pick the cap that matches how you'll actually use the tool. A newsletter with a big list and few emails fits Kit. Frequent sends to a small list fit MailerLite.

Starting prices hide the real bill. Most plans scale with your list, so a $13 plan at 500 contacts costs far more at 20,000. Automation often sits behind higher tiers. GetResponse's Starter plan limits workflows, and its $59 Marketer plan adds them. ActiveCampaign jumps from $15 on Starter to $49 on Plus and $79 on Pro. Constant Contact lists its Standard plan at an example $35 for 500 contacts, and that price grows with your list.

Common mistakes when choosing email marketing software

Picking on price alone is the usual one. A tool that costs $9 less per month but takes you an extra hour each week to run costs you more.

Another: ignoring list growth. Price your tool at three list sizes, today's, double and ten times, and check the cost at each. Skipping list hygiene is a third. Importing an old, cold list into a new tool can wreck your sender reputation in a week. Clean it first and warm up your sending slowly.

Finally, lock-in. Make sure you can export subscribers, tags, and campaign history in a standard file before you commit.

Email marketing questions people ask

Which email marketing tool is best for beginners?

MailerLite and Mailchimp both have simple editors and sensible templates. Kit is easier still if you only send a newsletter. Our guide to the best email marketing software compares them side by side.

Is a free email marketing plan enough?

For a small list, yes. Plenty of people run a newsletter on a free plan for months. Limits on contacts, daily sends or automations decide when you outgrow it, so check those before you pick.

What's the difference between email marketing and marketing automation?

Email marketing sends campaigns to a list. Marketing automation sends emails based on what people do, such as signing up, clicking, or buying. Many tools do both. If behaviour-based messaging matters most, look at our marketing automation category.

How do I avoid the spam folder?

Authenticate your domain, send to people who asked to hear from you, and remove contacts who never open. Keep an eye on bounce and complaint rates in your reports.

Can I move my list to a different tool later?

Yes. Export your subscribers with their tags and consent records, then import them to the new tool. Plan your automations separately, because those rarely transfer.

Ready to narrow down? Compare two or three tools side by side and look at plans at your real list size.